Tomoe's Sick!
by Rome OMD
Summary: Everyone’s trying to help! Why? Because Tomoe is sick! What is everyone to do?


Summary: Everyone's trying to help! Why? Because Tomoe is sick! What is everyone to do?

Part(s): One-shot

Rating: G

Author: Rome OMD

Date of Completion: 8/19/05

Date of Publication: 8/26/05

Note(s): To be honest, I've been on a K/T hype for the last couple of days, and I couldn't resist writing a fic myself. There will be fluff, OOC, and somewhat AU. As the OAV (OVA?) is darker, most fics I've read pertain a darker tone. However, I tried to make this one more lighthearted, because we all need happiness in our lives, including our beloved Kenshin and Tomoe. Oh, and if this happens to be a very similar copy of anyone's fic, I apologize and let me know, and I'll see what I can do about it.

Disclaimer: Rome OMD does not own any part of the _Rurouni__ Kenshin_ series, meaning the characters, story line, dialogue, etc. However, Rome OMD is using these aspects for non-profit uses.

Tomoe's Sick!

When she heard footsteps nearing, Tomoe lifted her head from the boiling pot and turned to the visitor. She smiled as she greeted, "Kaoru."

"Tomoe, you really don't need to be doing this. We're all very happy simply that you're here. You've come all the way from your father's house to visit, not to serve us. Maybe cooking dinner is going just a bit too far."

A voice called out from beyond Tomoe's view, "What are you talking about? The food you cook stinks! I had the stomach flu about six times last month from all your lame attempts to cook!"

"At least I try, Yahiko! Why don't you give it a shot next time?"

"A woman who doesn't know how to cook… or even protect herself. Kenshin's always saving you – what can you do that doesn't involve getting in people's way?"

"You know what? Just to torture you, I think I will cook tomorrow. For the entire day. So if you want to starve, be my guest and continue throwing these pathetic insults at your instructor!"

Tomoe allowed herself a smile as she saw Kaoru turn away from her feud with Yahiko. "Have you heard much of Kenshin, lately?"

Worry flashed across the other's eyes. "No, I haven't. It's been nearly two weeks. The government has been seeking him for a while now. They want his aid in suppressing a potentially chaotic rebel group that's been gaining influence in the west. I'm not sure when he'll return. I hope he'll come during your visit here, though."

Tomoe nodded. She hoped so as well. "I am almost finished preparing dinner so if you could help me in setting up, that would be great." Kaoru left with a nod.

As Tomoe finished with the last of the cooking, she could not help but feel the concern for Kenshin uncontrollably well up inside of her.

---

"Ahh… the aroma of good cooking. I haven't smelled anything like this since, well, a good cook's come to serve us dinner that's edible," Sanosuke remarked. "You should ask for some pointers. Maybe even basics. Yeah, that sounds a lot more reasonable."

"Sa-no –"

"Yeah, I know. Let's start. Kaoru, this is fish. Do you see how delectable it looks? If only you could get fish to look like this at least once every twelve tries…"

"Ya-hi –"

There was a sudden clang of silverware in the kitchen. Kaoru and the others quickly rushed to see what had happened. Tomoe lay still on the floor, one of the finished dishes' contents messily spilt beside her. "Tomoe!" There was no answer. "Tomoe!" A few seconds later, a groan was emitted from the fallen lady's mouth. She stirred and eventually straightened herself up, readjusting to her returning surroundings. "How are you feeling?" Kaoru asked from beside her.

Looking around, Tomoe gasped when she saw the spilt dish. "Oh, Kaoru, I'm very sorry. Forgive me for being so careless."

Sanosuke asked from the threshold. "Hey, you okay? You were lying unconscious there for a sec."

"I am fine." With Kaoru's help, Tomoe was able to get up but not without the throbbing in her forehead. Then suddenly, a striking pain truculently attacked her right shoulder, and she lurched forward, straight into her friend's arms. She could not help letting out a small cry of pain.

"I'll take you to your room. Yahiko, clean this place up. Sanosuke, do you know of anyone available that can possibly help?"

"No, please. It is not necessary. All I need is some rest. Please, do not take too much trouble on my part." However, the supposedly short journey to her room seemed painstakingly endless. It took forever. Simply the motion of fitting into the futon was dazed with confusion, pain, and obscure sight. Everything was so blurry. She felt hot but cool all the same. Time seemed to pass excruciatingly slow.

As Kaoru sat by Tomoe's side, the papered door slid open and in appeared Yahiko's form. "Here's some water. Sanosuke's fetching Megumi."

"Thanks, Yahiko. Here, Tomoe, you should drink."

"Kaoru, do you see it as well?"

"What?"

"On Tomoe's face. There are… red specs." She looked and there they were, the red specs.

"What could've happened?" Kaoru queried. "How do you feel?"

"I'm fine, Kaoru. There's just an itchy sensation on my skin and well, my body doesn't seem to be functioning like usual. But all that aside, I'm feeling okay."

"Oh, my, your temperature is way up." Kaoru removed her hand from Tomoe's forehead. "Oh, maybe Yahiko's right. You've been eating my cooking more times than what's good for anyone. It's got to be my cooking that's poisoned your body." There was an unnoticed smirk in the background. "I'm so sorry."

Tomoe gave her friend's hand a reassuring squeeze. "What are you talking about? It most definitely was not your fault. Please don't hold yourself guilty for something that you could do nothing about." What happened next almost made the bedridden lady jump up in fright.

Unceremoniously, Kaoru leaped up and with a determined fist, pronounced, "I will do all I can in my power to heal you. Or at least subdue some, if not , then at least one of your symptoms! Let's go, Yahiko!"

When Tomoe turned her head towards the addressed student, who still stood by the doorway's threshold, she caught the mouthed words, "This is when she gets really scary…" She could only nod as she tried to hide the ominous feelings surfacing inside of her.

---

The Kamiya dojo had already been covered by a blanket of nightfall by the time Kenshin returned home. He walked with tiredness from the journey evident in his placid violet eyes. All he wanted was rest; it seemed time was beginning to catch up with his increasing age. However, the quiet dojo he had wanted to return to was far from it when he stepped within the premises. He did not even need to enter the dojo to know something big was happening behind the papered doors that stood in front of him.

Voices, especially those of Kaoru and Yahiko, could be heard moving from one end of the hallway to the other. There was the clanging of pots and pans and of other materials the _rurouni_ could only begin to imagine. There were only two pairs of footsteps zipping through the house; where was Sano?

_It cannot be as bad as it sounds from the outside,_ Kenshin thought. He then stepped inside.

"Yahiko! Get the bamboo shoots! Don't you see the pot boiling? The water's beginning to overflow! Hurry, it's going to ruin the floor!"

"I'm here trying to chop the… whatever you asked me to chop! I can't do two things at once. And plus, it's all the way over there!"

"This remedy is very specific! The Bamboo-Chop-Chop recipe has to be made perfectly if it's going to work!"

"Everything needs to be made perfectly if it's going to work, you dumb banshee. And what's going to make this one work? Why am I even doing this? Your Eel-in-Chinese-Jiangyou didn't work. You just made her even greener!"

"Be quiet!" From inside a room adjoining the main hallway, Kaoru rushed out, very quickly passing by Kenshin. "Hi, Kenshin," she absentmindedly said. Then abruptly abandoning her itinerary, she backtracked her steps. "Kenshin? You're back!"

"Hello, Kaoru-dono. What exactly is going on here?"

"Oh, we're trying to help Tomoe."

The _rurouni's_ eyes widened. "Tomoe is here?"

"Oh, yeah, you don't know. She's come back from her father's house to visit. But, err, she's kind of sick right now…"

Yahiko's voice peeped out from the right. "She's been poisoned with the banshee's awful cooking!"

"Get back to work!"

"Where is Tomoe?"

"She's in the second room to the right down this way," Kaoru explained, pointing backwards. "Sorry, but I've got to continue with the Bamboo-Chop-Chop! The pot's overflowing." And she rushed away.

Solicitude overwhelming his body, Kenshin made his way towards the room his friend had said belonged to Tomoe. Before entering, he could already smell the ambrosial perfume that made up her unique scent. He gently opened the door and lying in the futon, there she was with discomfort clearly written all over her bedridden figure. "Tomoe!" She turned her head and at seeing him, she smiled in the way that always made Kenshin's heart melt. He knelt down beside her, gingerly caressing her face, the red specs and her color only fleeting thoughts in his admiration for the lady.

"Kenshin, you're back." The addressed character turned around to the voice's source.

"Sano."

"Tomoe, how are you feeling?"

"I'm fine," she replied but the ache was obvious as she had struggled to whisper those words.

"Sanosuke, move out of the way! Kenshin, you too. The pot's hot!" Sanosuke quickly sidestepped as ordered. "Tomoe, here, have some of this. It's filled with the very nutrients that will cure your ailment."

"Surely anything of that color can't be good for anyone normal. Tomoe, don't drink it," the ex-gangster warned.

"Don't talk when you don't know anything about medicine. By the way, where's Megumi?"

"She'll be here as soon as she's finished with the patient she's with now."

The door opened wider as Yahiko appeared. "Where's the… Is it supposed to look like that?"

"Yes, yes!" There was a hint of annoyance.

"That's a concoction only Kaoru can mix up." There was a nod of concurrence on Sanosuke's part. Regardless of the criticism shot at the soup-like _thing_ her friend had put together, Tomoe felt no repulsion as the stuff entered her mouth. Kaoru's pure concern and good-hearted intentions masked all the foul tastes and interesting textures.

From the side, Kenshin remarked, "An effective cure for anything but a full stomach, I've heard, is to go to the hot springs. Or, just take a warm bath."

Yahiko sniggered. "Yeah, you just want to see her naked." Kenshin froze in place. Tomoe from her position on the floor thought she saw him redden to a brilliant carmine.

Sanosuke continued, "We already know of your romantic past together. It's been a while, hasn't it?" If it was believed that the _rurouni_ could not become any redder… Kenshin looked as if he was going to fall over headfirst from all the blood rushing to his head. "Well, if you ask me, I've always heard laughter is the cure to all ailments."

Kaoru turned around. "Well, then."

"Well, then what?"

"Well, then..."

"Hey, no, no, I'm no comedian. I'm not going to–"

"Do it! Oh, Tomoe, I'm sorry for all this trouble. This was supposed to be a pleasant visit, but it's turned to a fiasco that was all my doing."

Tomoe forced a smile despite the pain she felt. "Thank you for what you've done for me."

"I promise to make you better." She stood up. "Come on, Sanosuke, use your laughter cure. No dinner next week if you don't."

After Kaoru left, Yahiko commented to the ex-gangster, "Wow, she's pissed today."

"I kind of understand. I mean, wouldn't you be too if it was because of your cooking that someone's head is pink, body is yellow with red specs all over and shivering even though it's the middle of summer?"

A new voice answered, "She's only trying to help. My, my, what a party we have here tonight!" Megumi walked in after. "Tomoe, it's been a while!" A second look caused for shock on Megumi's part. "Oh, my…" She then turned around. "It would be great if we could be alone for a while. It's easier to work that way. Oh, and can one of you please fetch a towel and water?" The three walked out as asked, but Kenshin looked back just once to see a pair of reassuring ebon eyes.

---

About an hour had passed before Megumi exited from Tomoe's room. Kenshin, who had been sitting outside the whole time, immediately stood to meet her. There was a moment of uneasy tension as he waited for an answer. All chagrin left when he saw her smile.

"Tomoe will be fine. It's nothing that can't be healed with some rest and seeing the man she's visited Kaoru's dojo for." With another smile, she made her way to the kitchen where everyone else was waiting for the news. He entered slowly, afraid of any sudden movements.

Once the door was closed behind him, he made his way to the futon, once again in the kneeling position he had been in earlier. "Are you feeling better?"

"Yes, Megumi was very helpful." He sighed in relief. The tiredness he felt earlier had vanished completely and what fully occupied his mind now was simply the beautiful lady, despite the side effects of the illness that had taken over her body that day, lying in front of her. "How do I look?"

"Beautiful," he said as he held her hand.

"Thank you," Tomoe answered with gratitude though there seemed to be a tone of unbelief. A period of silence enveloped the room, but neither minded. The other's presence was enough to fill their hearts with an emotion that neither experienced with any other. She let out a very small giggle. Kenshin gave an inquiring look. "There are shadows behind that door." At that comment, Kenshin turned to see the silhouettes trying to scurry away unobtrusively, but unfortunately the door was slightly opened as a result. With nervous smiles through the crack, Kaoru, Yahiko, Sanosuke, and Megumi closed the door and quickly rushed out of the hallway. Kenshin chuckled as well.

"I'm very fortunate to have met them. They're very kind and caring friends."

"Yes, without a doubt," Tomoe agreed. She slightly shuffled within the contents of the futon. "May we go outside?" Kenshin helped her up, trying to keep the coverlet wrapped around her form at the same time as they made their way through the room's sliding door that led to the outside. The two sat down on the wooden gallery, allowing the night alfresco air to rejuvenate their bodies.

"How was your journey?"

"Don't speak if it's too painful."

"No, it is not."  
Kenshin sighed and breathed in another lungful of the cool air before answering. "The government wants my aid in suppressing a conflagrating rebellion out to the west. They shared their plans with me. It wasn't anything very enjoyable." He felt Tomoe lean her head against his shoulder; she was indeed tired. "Should I leave you to sleep?"

"No, please continue talking."

"And that was all. But before I left, they had to test my skills." He could feel her stiffen. "I carry a _sakabatou_ now. I've promised never to kill again, and I shall never break that contract with myself. This, I promise you."

The atmosphere was tranquil and reflective. The trees shook and the leaves rustled as if to greet the two new arrivals. As the wind blew, Tomoe held onto the coverlet tighter, and Kenshin embraced her form with his arms, hoping his body heat would help.

"I'm nearly finished helping Father re-organize. Until I'm assured he can take care of himself, I will finally be able to leave the house."

"I hope all this business ends soon."

"You're needed. You hold a valuable skill that can contribute to the future preservation of peace in this country." As Tomoe said this, she could feel regret and sadness well up inside of her. "Until that peace arrives… But maybe it will not be for a while."

"Will you wait for me until that day?"

"I've waited through the Revolution and will wait until that day."

There was a pause. "When that day comes, I wish to return to the mountains, to live the simple lives we had like before."

"As do I. I wish to live forever with you… I love you, _anata_."

"I love you… and will forever."

Another wind blew past, and Kenshin tightened his embrace, this time leaning his head against Tomoe's own. Her slightly nasally voice asked, "Are you not afraid that you will catch my sickness?"

"Then let me be sick with you." Though silent, the placid atmosphere played like a lullaby to the couple's ears. They slowly shut their eyes, lost in each other's embrace.

End

Author's Notes: Yay! A happy ending for Kenshin and Tomoe! I'm not very good, but hey, who's going to stop me? I hope the slightly AU didn't confuse anyone – yes, everyone's on friendly and familiar terms. If there are any inconsistencies, mistakes, etc. don't hesitate to tell me! Constructive criticism will always be gratefully accepted, but please, no flames. Thanks for reading!


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